1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of electronic tour guides and, more particularly, to an interactive multimedia tour guide that includes packaged tours in a multimedia format and which provides directions and useful information about a selected tour as the tour progresses. The packaged tours are part of a Geographic Information System (GIS) database, and a selected tour is controlled by the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. The user interface includes voice recognition and speech synthesis to provide audible directions and prompts and to respond to voiced commands. The interactive multimedia tour guide allows the user to modify the packaged tour while in progress and, in addition, serves the function of a concierge to identify dining and lodging options and to make reservations for the user. The flexibility of the interactive multimedia tour guide allows the user to begin a tour at any point and to change the tour as the spirit dictates, allowing the user an unprecedented degree of freedom in their sightseeing. Combined with optional still or video camera, the interactive multimedia tour guide allows for rapid identification and editing of pictures or videos made on a tour.
2. Background Description
Sightseeing has become an abiding pastime for many people who are eager to see and learn about new things. To take advantage of this, many tour book authors and publishers have generated a vast amount of information to assist the eager travelers. Most big cities have tour buses with tour guides that provide a running commentary on notable buildings and events as the tour bus passes through various sections of the city. Sometimes it is possible to hire a knowledgeable taxi cab driver to provide a more personal tour of a city. However, once outside the city, the tourist is more or less left to his or her own devices guided only by one or more of the many tour books available on the market. This can be a problem because on the one hand there is a large amount of information and on the other hand a dearth of information. It is often difficult to find just the information needed for a particular tour. The information may be there in all those tour books, but it is buried and hard to find.
Consider an example. Suppose that a couple wanted to take a nice day trip to visit several wineries in the region. Assuming that there are a number of wineries, the question arises, which ones to go to on this particular day trip? How many can we see, and what else might be in the same general locale that might be of interest? Is there a country inn where lunch or dinner might be enjoyed? And if we were to spend two or more days in the wine country, are there bed and breakfasts or other suitable lodging? Clearly, by the time one researches all these topics and determines where to go, what to see and, if dining and lodging is desired, where to eat and stay, it is quite possible that something more familiar not requiring all this work will be the alternate choice. But even if one were to undertake the logistical planning involved, there are inevitably surprises. The hours listed in the tour book have changed since the book was published, there are fees that had not been anticipated, and that picnic you had planned to have at one of the wineries for which you had purchased the nice loaf of French bread and the cheese to be enjoyed with the wine you were going to purchase, well the winery does not allow picnics on the property or does not have the required off license for you to consume the wine off premises. And that country inn that is so highly recommended, it requires reservations at least a week in advancexe2x80x94it is after all highly recommended.
The problem is not unique to wineries, of course. Those interested in history might enjoy a tour of Revolutionary War and/or Civil War battle fields or historic houses. Others interested in the great scenic wonders of the country might want a tour of some of our National Parks. Again, for either of these topics there are a great many books to pore over plotting out a strategy of where to go and what to do. But no matter how carefully one may plan, something may be omitted or a turn missed, making an eagerly anticipated tour something less memorable than had been anticipated.
The problems are exacerbated when one contemplates a tour of a foreign country, particularly when one is unfamiliar with the language. For many, the answer is a pre-packaged tour, typically on a crowded bus with a translator/tour guide. On such a tour, one is herded with the mass like so many cattle from one photo opportunity to the next without ever having the time the fully appreciate the historical significance or beauty of the place. Quite often on return home, when reviewing the pictures taken, the traveler wonders where some of his or her pictures were taken and what was the subject of the picture.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which provides a user an experience equivalent to having a personal tour guide.
It is another object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which is portable, allowing the user to carry the interactive multimedia tour guide with them on foot, on a bicycle, or in an automobile or other conveyance.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which allows the user complete flexibility not only in the planning of a trip, but also during the trip.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which allows the user a choice of language with which to interact with the tour guide thereby providing the user with the equivalent of a translator.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which includes an optional digital camera connection so that a picture or video taken with the camera will be automatically date and time stamped and provided with the location and a brief description of the subject of the picture.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the interactive multimedia tour guide is implemented using a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) system enabled map program with a GIS (Geographic Information System) database running on a computer. Tour data are prepackaged and stored on computer readable media, and this data may be correlated to a hard cover book that describes the tours. The data may be updated online by down loading data from Internet Web sites prior to taking a tour. In addition, for those destinations having a Web site, the interactive multimedia tour guide may access that Web site via a wireless phone, such as a cell phone, on approach to the destination as determined by the GPS system.
The interactive multimedia tour guide can be used in several ways. First, the interactive multimedia tour guide can be used in a home computer system to preview tours, much as a hard cover book equivalent would be used, by accessing the GIS database. One advantage over a hard cover book is that the computer system can be connected via the Internet to a Web site that will provide the latest information on the destinations in a tour being reviewed. Such information might include opening times, admission prices and discounts, amenities, and the like which may change from time to time and season to season. The text of the tour description includes hyperlinks to those destinations having Web sites so that the latest information provided by the destinations themselves may be accessed. The user can select a tour and, by means of a print icon displayed on the computer screen, open a menu to select a print out of a map of a tour and printed text description of tour highlights, as updated by access to one or more Web sites. With this information, the user may then go on the selected tour. However, rather than print the tour, the user can download the tour to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) having an attached GPS module. Now the user is able to take the tour using the convenience of the PDA with the added guidance provided by the GPS module.
All the tours include various other points of interest in addition to the primary destinations in a given tour. The primary destinations are referred to as principle points of interest. These are the xe2x80x9cbackbonexe2x80x9d of the tour; that is, other points of interest hang on this backbone. The other points of interest are referred to as ancillary points of interest and also would be identified on the printed tour map and accompanying text. The user has the ability to customize the tours to his or her own personal preferences. The interactive multimedia tour guide provides a series of menus that seeks to develop a profile of the user as well as direct answers to the user""s personal likes and dislikes. This might occur in the process of loading the interactive multimedia tour guide on the user""s personal computer for the first time, but might be subsequently updated at any time by the user, perhaps to include the preferences of a traveling companion. Thus, while there may be a great deal of information in the database of the interactive multimedia tour guide about many ancillary points of interest which are not the primary subject of a particular tour, only those ancillary points of interest which correspond to the preferences of the user, or the user and the user""s companion(s), would be included in the printed map and accompanying text.
The user is not confined to one of the prepackaged tours in the database. For those not particularly familiar with an area, the prepackaged tours make an ideal choice, but for those more adventurous, it is also possible to craft a customized tour. This is done by previewing two or more of the prepackaged tours. When a tour is previewed, the principle points of interest are displayed in a slide show comprising still pictures and possibly video and audio clips to give the user an idea of what he or she will experience on the tour. After previewing two or more prepackaged tours, the user may want to mix and match principle points of interest from several tours to generate his or her own customized tour. This is done by means of a menu which shows the several principle points of interest which have been previewed with a box to check (or uncheck) in order to select the principle points of interest the user would like in his or her tour.
Once a tour has been selected, however, a second way the interactive multimedia tour guide can be used is on the tour itself. A GPS receiver and GPS enabled map program are required. To support the full range of user interaction with the computer system, the computer system also requires a microphone, speaker, a voice recognition system, and a speech synthesis system with a text to speech module. Since one preferred environment for the interactive multimedia tour guide is a private automobile, the speakers of the automobile""s stereo system may be used, and for those automobiles with integrated GPS systems, the GPS receiver can also be used. It is even possible to fully integrate the computer system in the automobile, but this is not necessary as a portable or laptop computer system or a pocket computer system or PDA may be used, allowing the interactive multimedia tour guide to be easily transferred from one automobile to another or carried by the user. This portable electronic system can be easily moved from one automobile to another, avoiding the incompatibilities of various proprietary integrated GPS navigation systems in different makes of automobiles. Moreover, a user might fly to a particular destination and use the interactive multimedia tour guide in a rental car.
In a preferred embodiment, a special purpose portable electronic system implementing the interactive multimedia tour guide is provided. This system can be used while touring on foot or bicycle as well as in an automobile. In addition to the GPS system, this portable electronic system includes an integrated wireless mobile telephone communication system, such as a cell phone or other personal communication service.
In this second mode of operation, the portable electronic system displays a map of the selected tour and the location of the GPS receiver (i.e., the location of the user or the automobile) on the map. Once a tour is initiated, the portable electronic system displays a map, showing the user""s current location, and provides audible directions en route. For greater map detail, the user can voice the command xe2x80x9cZOOM INxe2x80x9d to better show the immediate surroundings of the user""s current location. This command can be repeated multiple times, to the limit of the resolution of the map. Likewise, the user can voice the command xe2x80x9cZOOM OUTxe2x80x9d to provide a better perspective of the user""s location on the selected tour. Similarly, the voiced commands xe2x80x9cPAN RIGHTxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cPAN UPxe2x80x9d, etc. can be used to pan the displayed map in a desired direction.
En route, the portable electronic system also provides audible descriptions of ancillary points of interest, offering the user the option of visiting any of the ancillary points of interest. The user can alter the tour in progress by voicing the command xe2x80x9cDIRECTIONSxe2x80x9d followed by any one of the principle points of interest on the tour. The computer system responds to this command by activating the speech synthesis system to provide audible directions from the user""s current location to that point of interest, thereby allowing the user to modify the tour at will. In addition, there may be amenities along the route, which are not specifically in the tour or even mentioned during the tour, for which the user may require directions. An example might be the currently closest fast food establishment to satiate the appetites of young children in the automobile. The map database contains such information, and the computer system can provide the audible directions when requested.
On approach to a destination on the tour, the computer system, activated by distance information from the GPS system, activates the speech synthesis system and the text to speech module to give the user a description of what he or she is about to see and do. If the interactive multimedia tour guide is used in an automobile, the occupants would hear this information on the speaker system. This information might include a brief history of the place, significant facts, personalities and amenities. This information may include spoken or audible information and video clips. However, for safety sake, if used in an automobile, video clips are inhibited while the automobile is in motion. For example, on a winery tour, the history of the winery to be visited, the proprietor and the winemaker, and types of grapes grown and wines produced might be described. A video clip in this case might be a brief interview with the proprietor and/or winemaker and show the harvest, crush and pressing operations. If the destination has a Web site and the computer system is connected to a cell phone, the Web site can also be automatically accessed, again triggered by location as determined by the GPS system.
A particular advantage of the interactive multimedia tour guide is the possibility to deviate from the selected tour. When the interactive multimedia tour guide determines from the GPS position data that an ancillary point of interest which corresponds to the preferences of the user, say a Civil War battlefield site or other historical site is close by, the interactive multimedia tour guide will notify the user of the site and inquire whether the user would like to deviate from the current tour to visit the site. Should the user decide to visit the site, he or she would respond with the voiced response xe2x80x9cYESxe2x80x9d. The interactive multimedia tour guide would then provide directions and commentary about the site. Once the site had been visited, the user would then voice the command xe2x80x9cRETURN TO TOURxe2x80x9d, and the interactive multimedia tour guide would provide the directions to return to the original tour.
In another scenario, let us assume that a couple has set out on a selected day trip to tour several wineries. As the day wears on, they might decide that it would be nice to have lunch or dinner at an inn or restaurant in the vicinity. Ordinarily, this might pose a problem unless they and anticipated the possibility and determined where such an inn or restaurant might be located. With the interactive multimedia tour guide, such prior planning is not required. The user simply voices the command xe2x80x9cFIND DININGxe2x80x9d or, more simply, xe2x80x9cFOODxe2x80x9d, but of course the latter voiced command could be used to find groceries for, say, a picnic. The interactive multimedia tour guide searches its database and identifies those establishments which are reasonably close. These are then read to the user, providing distance and an approximate time of arrival, type of cuisine, dress requirements, and whether reservations are recommended or required. Should reservations be recommended or required for a selected inn or restaurant, the user can voice the command xe2x80x9cCALLxe2x80x9d to establish a telephone connection for the purpose of making reservations.
Similarly, should the day trip be sufficiently enjoyable that the couple decides that it would be nice to extend the trip for another day, the user of the multimedia tour guide can voice the command xe2x80x9cFIND LODGINGxe2x80x9d, and the interactive multimedia tour guide will search its database to identify those bed-and-breakfasts, motor lodges, camp grounds, and the like which are reasonably close or perhaps close to another selected tour to be taken on the following day. As before, the interactive multimedia tour guide would provide distance and approximate time of arrival for each establishment identified. The user would again voice the command xe2x80x9cCALLxe2x80x9d to establish a telephone connection for the purpose of making reservations.
The portable electronic system implementing the interactive multimedia tour guide, being sufficiently portable, can be used while touring on foot or while touring on bicycle, say in a city such as Paris where there are many sights to see most advantageously while walking rather than in an automobile or a bus. To best use the interactive features of the invention in this environment, a lightweight headset containing a miniature microphone and earphone may be worn. The headset could be integrated into a pair of sunglasses or a hat, to be less conspicuous, or worn independently. In addition, if the user does not speak French (or other language of the country or city visited), the interactive multimedia tour guide includes a database of languages, allowing the user to choose the language with which to interact with the tour guide. This database is also used to assist the user in conversing with locals by providing translations of commonly used phrases. This can be done both audibly and by a graffiti script written with a stylus on the hand-held display which includes an integrated Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) function.
The interactive multimedia tour guide may optionally include a connection to a digital camera. When activated, a picture or video taken with the camera can be stamped with time and day data and, in addition, provided with location and a brief description of the subject of the picture. When pictures are later downloaded to the user""s personal computer from the camera""s memory card or other memory device, accurate information about the picture or video is included with each picture or video clip. The pictures may be either still or video which may be edited on a personal computer by the user for archiving and presentation.
It will be appreciated that one of the significant features of the interactive multimedia tour guide is the possibility of modifying the tour while en route. This ad hoc feature makes the interactive multimedia tour guide very much like a private personal tour guide and concierge. And while the preferred embodiment contemplates the primary use of the interactive multimedia tour guide in an automobile, the portable nature of the interactive multimedia tour guide makes pedestrian tours quite practical. This is a particular advantage when touring foreign countries in which user is not fluent in the national language. Obviously, a combination of motor tour and pedestrian tour is also possible with the interactive multimedia tour guide.